Child nutrition programs see drop in participation, federal spending

Federal spending and meal participation in child nutrition programs has dropped when comparing FY 2023 and FY 2022, a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service shows.

During FY 2023, 8.8 million meals were served across the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

The total amount of lunches served through the NSLP totaled 2.4 billion in FY 2023, representing an 8.8% decrease compared to FY 2022. The total number of breakfasts served through the SBP also decreased when comparing the two years. In FY 2023, there were 2.4 billion breakfasts served through the program, a decrease of 8.8%.

In addition, federal spending for both NSLP and SBP was less in FY 2023 when compared to FY 2022. In FY 2023, a total of $17.2 billion was spent through the NSLP, 25.2% less than in FY 2022. Federal spending for the SBP was 5.2 billion in FY 2023, 19.8% less in FY 2022.

The report noted that the decrease in federal spending between the two years for both programs may be due in part to the expiration of a series of child nutrition waivers issued by the USDA that allowed school nutrition programs to feed all students for free and allowed them to receive the higher SFSP federal meal reimbursement rate for each meal served. The waivers were in effect through June 2022. In addition, The Keep Kids Fed Act, which passed just after the waivers expired, temporarily raised federal meal reimbursement rates by 40 cents for each lunch served and 10 cents for each breakfast served, until June 2023.

School nutrition professionals have raised alarm in recent years about federal meal reimbursement rates being too low to cover the cost of producing school meals. In its 2024 Position Paper, the School Nutrition Association called on Congress to raise the federal reimbursement rate by 40 cents per lunch and 15 cents per breakfast.

Similar to the NSBP and SBP, federal spending and participation were both lower for the SFSP during FY 2023 compared to FY 2022. In FY 2023, during the month of July when participation in SFSP typically peaks, 2.2 million meals were served, a 20.3% decrease compared to July in FY 2022. Throughout FY 2023, federal spending for the program was 546.6 million, 8.9% lower compared to FY 2022.

The CACP which serves after-school meals to students also saw a lower number of meals served when comparing FY 2023 to FY 2022; however, spending remained the same. During FY 2023 1.7 million meals were served through the program, 8.9% less than in FY 2022. Spending was 3.9 billion in FY 2023 which was similar to spending in FY 2022.

During the summer of 2022, school nutrition providers were able to again use waivers issued by the USDA to expand the number of areas where meal sites could be held and serve meals in non-congregate settings. This could be why participation was greater during FY 2022 compared to FY 2023.

This is not the only report revealing that the USDA wavers had an impact on school nutrition programs. A report by the Food Research and Action Center shows that the expiration of the waivers likely led to a decrease in school meal participation among the nation’s largest school districts.